How Harry Met Hedwig
by cjsmalley
Summary: Every wizard needs an owl and every Time Lord must have their first adventure. Join the TARDIS crew for Harry's first adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**How Harry Met Hedwig**

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Harry Potter, any related characters and/or concepts belong to JK Rowling and/or Bloomsbury and Scholastic Publishing companies and/or Warner Brothers Studios. Likewise I do not own Doctor Who, any related characters and/or concepts belong to the BBC. I am a mere Fanfiction writer with far too much time on her hands.**_

**Spoilers**_**: Post Stolen Earth, no Journey's End, and AU where Rose and the Meta **_

_**stayed. Set after "Forming Family", "Tiny Traveler", "Procuring a Professor For Potter" and "Quite the Day".**_

**Prologue****:**

Everyone would comment on how intelligent Harry's familiar, Hedwig, a beautiful snowy owl, was. The fact that she seemed to always turn up when there was mail to be sent, regardless whether it was Harry's mail or his friends, when he was brooding or even when he was just feeling out of sorts. She became famed for appearing out of nowhere and landing on her master's shoulder, nipping at his ear or preening his hair affectionately. She even seemed to hold conversations with the boy, replying with bobbing her head or barking an owl bark. She would even recognize his friends and family, fetching them when Harry really needed them.

When asked where he bought this wonderful creature Harry would smile and reply that he didn't buy her, she had chosen to come with him. She was free to abandon him according to her whims.

She never did, but how they met was a story unto itself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part One:**

Harry was bouncing on his heels, anxious and excited and completely terrified. He had his own manic grin on. Dressed in a miniature tweed jacket, a scarlet bowtie, nice slacks, and converse running shoes, he was prepared for his very first real adventure. He was only four years old and yet had been waiting for this day for what seemed like forever. Though he was rather put out with being made to wear a full face motorcycle helmet.

"It's just for the landing!" The Doctor spoke with a smile as he selected a nice and peaceful planet.

"Why didn't you ever give me one?" Rose asked teasingly as she worked the console alongside him.

"Just what would you have told me?" he replied.

"Point."

"Found one, Atmora," The Doctor announced, "Nice, peaceful planet. The melting pot of their galaxy. They have a gorgeous festival that is a must-see for every traveler."

"Sounds like the place then," Rose agreed.

"Hold on tight!"

And then they were spinning and falling and laughing and just generally enjoying themselves. Harry had a tight hold on a railing, knuckles white, suddenly thankful for the helmet even as he hollered and hooted like a madman. With a shudder and a quake they landed, sprawled out on the grating and giggling. Harry moved first, removing his helmet before just laying back and laughing some more.

After a while the Doctor got to his knees, grinning insanely; his joints popped as he moved, clamoring to his feet before crossing to help Harry up.

Rose joined them and together, with Harry between his parents, the trio left at a quick pace.

They had landed not far from the festival and Harry was amazed by the variety of stalls and booths with a multitude of beings hawking their wares and services.

The grass beneath their feet was blue, robin egg blue, the sky above their heads a nice lilac color. Two suns, bright yellow, warmed the planet to a nice spring temperature. Flying reptiles of a rainbow of colors took to the sky as creatures that seemed to be half-horse and half ostrich grazed and rooted around for grubs.

Dozens of carnival rides were set up; some very Earth-like, such as the Ferris Wheel and rollercoasters, and some very not-Earth-like at all, such as the anti-gravity bounce-houses, carts that seemed to run along invisible coaster tracks in mid-air, and the living merry-go-rounds.

A bored being, a scaly humanoid with snakes for hair, sat in a booth and asked, "Tickets?"

The Doctor waved the Psychic Paper. The booth-being sat straighter, "My apologies Sir, go right ahead…"

The family went ahead, Rose asking, "Who're we this time?"

The Doctor looked at the paper, laughing, "Sir Doctor, of the TARDIS, Dame Rose Tyler, of Powell Estate, and Lord Harry Potter-Black, of Wales."

"Huh, well, anyway, where to first?"

"Oh! The games!" Harry hopped up and down, "I bet I can win them all!"

"You sure?" his mother teased, "I dunno Harry, some of them look awfully hard…"

"Some might be fixed too," his father added glumly.

Harry stared up at them, adorably serious, "I don't think you understood me, I _am_ going to win them all. Just you watch."

Rose and The Doctor glanced at each other, suddenly reminded of a terrible day a lifetime ago.

Harry did not notice this exchange as he dragged them forward into the game area. He steadily began winning his way through the games, earning prizes left, right and, center.

Elsy appeared with a fabric bag, handing it to them before disappearing. The bag was bigger on the inside, having room for all the toys.

The Doctor and Rose managed to lure him away from the stalls whose owners seemed close to a nervous break-down with the promise of sweets. As they settled in, enjoying an ice-cream-like concoction, something blocked their sunshine. A bird was circling above their heads, eyeing them. Then it disappeared into a nearby wood.

"Odd that." The Doctor muttered before pushing the thought from his mind. They were on holiday after all. No running, hopping, or swimming for their lives. If they found a tyrant they'd come back another time to deal with them. He absolutely refused to be pulled into an adventure.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Two:**

"I demand to see the judge right this _instant_!" he shouted impotently as he yanked on the bars. Their jailors had been genre-savvy, stripping him and his family down to their pants, thus depriving them of their usual escape routes…Though at least they had given them a blanket.

"Done yet?" Rose asked calmly as she sat in her undergarments, Harry curled up next to her in his skivvies and the blanket.

Frustrated, he nodded.

"Good, budge up Harry," she stood up, crossing to the door and squatting down to examine the lock. She laughed, "Idiots!"

"What?" The Doctor bent down next to her, looking over and thinking he had missed something.

"I'd be able to pick this in my sleep." She giggled, reaching into one of the cups of her bra, only to pull out a rolled up bundle. She laid the bundle on the floor and unrolled it to reveal a lock-picking set. She picked up her tools and set to work.

"What!" The Doctor yelped, "Since when can you—?"

"Keep yellin' Doctor, draw 'em right towards us yeah?" she snorted, shaking her head, "Jimmy Stone taught me the basics, bad sort he was, Jack worked with me some, both of us agreed tha' it'd be useful ta have 'round you. Worked a bit on my own, then got some more trainin' in Pete's World..." she worked, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated, "Almost…got…it!" the lock clicked loose and she packed away her kit.

She went back to Harry, gathering him up close to her body. With a glance she and the Doctor took off running together, hoping to at least get a little headway on their captors.

Unfortunately, they tripped some sort of sensors and soon had an army of guards after them. They were cornered in an office, The Doctor had barricaded the door and told Harry to stay low as he and Rose looked for a way out.

"The vents!" Rose exclaimed, pointing up. The grating popped off before they even touched it, falling into a heap.

"Here," the Doctor cupped his hands, "You get up there, I'll pass Harry and then follow."

Reluctantly she nodded and he boosted her up, watching as she scrambled and scrabbled for purchase and grip.

The door buckled menacingly as Harry was passed up and gave way just as the Doctor climbed up and his ankles were dangling.

The guards grabbed them and began pulling him out. Rose grabbed him by his elbows and pulled him in. A game of tug of war commenced, the Time Lord the rope, however the guards had more manpower and quickly won.

"Go!" The Doctor told Rose and Harry, "Go on! I'll be fine!"

"B—" Rose started determinedly.

"Go!" and he was gone, captured again.

Rose and Harry took off, crawling as quickly as they could manage. Harry was ahead of his mother, that way anyone would have to go through her first.

They crawled and crawled, seemingly for hours before they came to another grate. Harry moved beyond it, twisting around to face his mother who had retrieved her tools once again.

Carefully she unbolted it and moved it aside.

"Don' come down 'til I say so,' she ordered Harry who nodded.

Slowly, carefully she lowered herself down feet first, letting go when the drop was tiny.

"Excuse me," a voice spoke from behind her and she froze, slowly, reluctantly turning around to the speaker, "might I inquire as to why you've dropped from the vents into my office?"

It was a cat-woman, dressed in robes of blue. Her fur was fine and a grey color while her eyes were blue. She seemed wary of the intruder but also curious.

During the split second of silence Rose's brain fired at full speed, trying to decide whether to try escaping, possibly alerting them to Harry's location, or causing a distraction to give him time to get away and she possibly being brought back to the Doctor.

'_Or_,' the thought sprang, '_Words might work._'

"Wait," the cat-woman said, "Let me guess, you were arrested for something small and stupid and are now trying to break out, or at least find your clothes?"

"Actually, yeah, pretty much." Rose nodded in surprised agreement.

"What did you supposedly do?" the other woman said tiredly, reaching into her desk to grab a notepad and pen.

"We, my family were playin' the games an' kept winnin' so the vendors said we were cheatin' them."

"Figures," the woman sighed, making a note, "Well, I am the Governor of this city, Mary Merryweather…Who might you be?"

"Rose Tyler," Rose supplied helpfully.

Mary's brows knitted together, "That name rings a bell…" Her whiskers twitched.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeell," Rose said, drawing the word out, "You've probably heard of my partner…"

"And who is that?"

"The Doctor."

Mary looked at Rose in shock before rapidly paling and demanding, "The Doctor? Madman in a blue box? Wears celery on his jacket?"

Rose's nose scrunched up, "He's regenerated a few times since then but yeah, madman in a blue box…"

"Sweet Sithis preserve us!" Mary swore, lunging at her intercom like device and saying into the microphone, "Attention, attention all guards. You have arrested the Time Lord known as The Doctor! Release him immediately and bring him to my office! Yesterday! With his property!"

Rose looked up and saw Harry looking down at her. She opened her arms and he dropped down.

"Who is that?" Mary asked fearfully.

"Harry Potter, mine an' the Doctor's son." Rose set her boy down, keeping a hand on his shoulder.

"And how old is he?" Mary asked.

"Four Earth Years."

Mary's eyes flashed dangerously, "Heads will roll for this; I can promise you that Miss Tyler."

"Good." Rose replied in a low voice as she lost sight in one eye. The eye began glowing gold, signifying that Bad Wolf was now involved, "My alter-ego wants ta hunt 'em down."

"They hurt my mate and scared my cub." A different, low, almost feral growling voice came from Rose's lips, "I demand blood."

"No, no blood." Rose argued with Bad Wolf, "You know we don' like spillin' blood."

She had seemingly forgotten she was standing in only her undergarments, in front of a cat-woman who was now looking at her like she was completely _insane_. She probably was anyway…

A whine issued from her lips before Bad Wolf retreated, the glowing eye darkening back to the natural warm brown.

At that point the Doctor burst through the door and made a beeline to his family, "Alright? No injuries right?" He was already dressed, although his suit was rumpled and his tie loose.

"Nope." Harry spoke as his father checked them over anxiously, "We're fine, me an' Mum."

The Doctor dug their clothes from his pockets and gave them over before he turned to the person in charge.

"It was all a misunderstanding I swear!" Mary defended herself automatically, holding up her hands, "The previous guy was a tyrant, jail and execution for everything type. I thought I'd handled them."

The Doctor glowered.

"Everyone will be sacked, I swear! And you…we'll put your family up for however long you want, take you to all the sights…please don't torment me!"

Rose laid her hand on his arm, saying softly, looking up at him with a gentle smile, "It was a mistake, love, an honest mistake. Not one she had anythin' ta do with either. No 'arm, no foul."

"Of course Rose," he agreed, shooting the cat-woman one last glare, "Had a hair been out of place though, different story."

"Allow me to escort you to the dignitary residence," Mary spoke, bowing deeply.

"Fine." The Doctor motioned for Harry to come close and then scooped him up.

Harry yawned and laid his head on his father's shoulder, extremely tired now that they were out of danger.

They were led out and to a house. It was a small comfortable cottage that wouldn't have looked out of place in a fairytale storybook.

Harry was settled in the smaller of two bedrooms, dressed in a set of footy pajamas from a family overnight bag that Rose had thought to put into the Doctor's pockets after her first few adventures and updated frequently. Harry was already deeply asleep by this point and so the three adults retired to the small kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Three:**

Harry happily chased the other visiting children as his parents and Auror Dawlish and Evelina kept a watchful eye on him. He laughed and giggled as they were playing tag and he was IT.

The suns shone happily as dozens of families and couples picnicked on spread blankets and vendors hawked foodstuffs from a variety of cultures. There was to be a firework show later but not for a few hours.

Harry suddenly froze, raising his eyes to the sky and then shielding them from the light. A shrill cry sounded and an owl circled above him before diving and landing on his shoulder.

"Well, hello there," Harry greeted, looking at the bird. It was snowy white with brown speckles across its wings signifying that she was actually a female. Dutifully she stuck out her leg to reveal a letter was attached to it.

"For me?"

The owl nodded.

"Alright then." he quickly undid the twine and unfurled the post, reading;

"_Harry,_

_This owl is your familiar. Her name is Hedwig._

_R.S_

_PS It's all very Timey Wimey Wibbly-Wobbly."_

"R.S?" Harry muttered. His family had joined him.

"Dad, do we know an R.S?" Harry asked, handing the note to his father.

The Doctor and Rose read it over, eyes meeting as they were pulled back to a Library, 'Just…just a friend son, a good friend." His voice full of emotion.

"Can we trust this person though?" Auror Dawlish asked, in full bodyguard mode now.

"Yes," Rose nodded, "yes I should think so."

"You _think_ so?"

"Like the note says, timey-wimey." She shrugged, kneeling and looked at the owl, "So this's Hedwig then…Well, she'll be a good post owl."

"You mean I can keep her?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Yes, every wizard needs an owl." Rose stood up, "C'mon, we still have time to get her settled in the TARDIS before the show starts."

"C'mon Hedwig!" Harry ran ahead, his owl taking flight and following after, "We've an aviary!"

"I'm on him." Auror Dawlish sighed, hurrying after his charge with Evelina following after him.

"Hagrid didn't buy him Hedwig…" Rose murmured, looking up at the Doctor, "Does that mean…?"

"We can't be sure, not yet, not so soon; but, god, I hope so…" he replied, taking her into his arms, "I really do hope so."

Harry's fated destiny hung heavily on them but maybe Fate would be kind.

They could only pray so.

**The End**


End file.
